by Sharleen (Lynn) WL
Author's note: This is a short story that I originally posted on
Reddit. I have rewritten it in the first person.
*****
It was a dark and stormy night, and it was still raining the following day into the afternoon.
I had just finished eating lunch and was sitting cross-legged on the couch watching TV. Schools were closed as many of the roads and buildings were flooded. It was a week before Halloween, my favorite holiday. Normally, it would be an exciting time, but today I was getting a little bored and kind of tired of the rain.
I actually loved the rain, especially dark and stormy nights. I would curl up in bed under the covers and read a ghost story book, and that's exactly what I did the night before. I loved being scared. Well, not too much, though. After all, I was only 9. But this weather had been a little too much even for me. I wished the sun had been out so I could go play outside with my friends again.
I looked at my soles. They were quite dirty from playing outside barefoot the day before, and I didn't bother washing them before going to bed. And in this weather, taking a shower was the last thing I wanted to do.
Yeah, I was a free spirit who always hated wearing shoes or anything on my feet. I would take off any footwear at every chance I got to my mom's dismay.
My mom was busy in the kitchen cleaning up and preparing to make my favorite Halloween cookies. "Shoot, I'm low on sugar again!" she said.
Hearing that, I had a bright idea. "Ooh, ooh, mom, I can go out and get some sugar for you," I said with excitement. "I'll just walk over to Mr. Lee's store which is really close by. All I need is my poncho!"
"Nah! Are you kidding me? You're gonna get all wet and get sick. You're already starting to have a cold, aren't you?" replied mom.
"But mom, I wanna go and I'll be fine. Besides, I once read online that you don't actually get sick from getting wet. That's just an old wives' tale."
Mom just chucked as she listened to her smart-ass little daughter. "OK Lynn, if you insist, and while you're there you can get me some coffee too," she said.
"Yay!" I was elated as I jumped up and grabbed my poncho. I was wearing a pink tank top and white shorts. Mom handed me some money and I started to walk towards the door. But she yelled,
"Whoa, wait a minute kiddo! Aren't you gonna put something on your feet?" while staring at my bare feet.
You see, mom had kind of accepted the fact that I hated wearing shoes, but she thought today was different. It was pouring outside, and I would need to wear something to protect my feet.
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